[Uche Ogbuji]

And what of that "I"--is it righter than "me"?
Or is rightest whatever the heck seems to fly;
Lord poet ain't happy when language flaps free
So I'm sure he's fancier rhymer than I

[Gail White]

Thanks for the OED quotes, Clive. (How could I have forgotten Prior's Better Answer?)

On the other hand, up against Proverbs I would put Edmund Burke:
"In the reporter's gallery yonder there sits a Fourth Estate more important than they all."

Also, Julie, good points about English as a hybrid lanaguage. But the French word for "I" (pronounced "zhuh") sounds just plain funny at the end of a sentence, and they avoid putting it there. I'd like to see how a French Bible translates, "Lord, is it I?"

[Diane Dees]

You are correct, Gail. That you have begun to question a correct use of grammar just goes to show how grammar has been trashed in the English language.

[Gregory Dowling]

But as Clive points out, it's a trashing that's been going on since at least the 16th century, and by writers like Goldsmith and Scott along the way.